Along the Road: Loving Others

The Lay Speakers at Fairview offered the message, "The Road of Discipleship." The first portion of that message, "Loving God," was posted in the previous Blog. You may want to start there. Jesus tells us that the "gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few that find it." (Matthew 7:14) The Good News is that there are resting places, way points, dwelling places along the road. We like to picture them as park benches. Please join us as we travel the road that leads to life.







(Laity Voice Three) The second step, the second park bench, the second way-station on the Road of Discipleship is “Loving Others,” connecting to others, learning from others through God’s gift of community. Jesus was very clear, “By this you will be known as my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John says, “Because God first loved us, little children, we ought to love one another.”

The early church gives us the best examples, “They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers….they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread together at home and ate food with glad and generous heart.” Acts 2:42,46

Paul’s churches that we read about in the New Testament were not buildings, but gatherings of small groups in homes, house churches.

Wesley reenergized the Church of England with small groups. Wesley was asked, “How do we escape the wrath to come?” another way of saying, “How do we become disciples?” Or “what is the Road of Discipleship?” Wesley gathered people in diverse groups across the English country side and in so doing set the stage for the transformation of a nation. They did so because they experienced the power of Community and the love of community and they were nurtured in their spiritual growth through community and they were changed.

It is through our small groups like Joy Group, Disciple Bible Study, Dinner Groups, Small Studies, Sunday School, that relationships are formed, that friendships are made, that caring occurs, that growth happens, that love prospers, that disciples are nurtured.

Bishop Schnase emphasizes that there are many things you simply cannot do alone. You cannot learn to love alone. You cannot learn to be patient alone. You cannot learn to be kind and considerate alone. You cannot learn to forgive alone, you cannot learn to care for another alone, you cannot be held accountable alone. It is in community that we learn to love others.

And just as in Loving God, connecting to others, learning from others, loving others takes Time. We learn in relationship and it takes Time. And because it is so important, small groups, community will receive increased emphasis here at Fairview in coming months. We need to dwell there. So the next park bench on the Road of Discipleship is “Loving Others.”